


Circumstantial Consequences

by Spork_in_the_Road



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Modern AU, Multi, NO GRINDLEWALD, Percival gets headaches, Queenie is darling, So that should be fun, Tina breaks the rules, also pls be aware that some things are not in canonical order because this is au thanks, and a badass, but tbh i always make things a little sad, i don't think the rating will change but you never know, i just realized i lowkey replaced grindelwald with donald trump so take that as you will, i really want this to be a lot of fluff, in which everyone is freaking out because Donald Trump is becoming president, slight abernathy pining for graves since seasons-gredence is brainwashing me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-19
Updated: 2017-01-19
Packaged: 2018-09-18 13:18:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9386948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spork_in_the_Road/pseuds/Spork_in_the_Road
Summary: “Don’t be daft. You can’t adopt a no-maj, Goldstein,” Abernathy’s voice called from the next cubicle. The man rolled into Tina’s cubicle in his rolling chair, looking casual, relaxed, and altogether a little douchey – if Tina was being quite honest with herself.Modern Day AU in which Credence might actually get the happiness he deserved





	

New York was hellish on a normal day, but with recent events, things had escalated beyond reason. Credence Barebone stood on a street corner, trying not to duck his head too much lest his mother, Mary Lou, think he’s ashamed of her. Across the street stood the opposition: baby murderers, sinners, atheists, communists, homos. His mother strung those hateful words together like rosary beads, and shouted them like she was praying to a deaf god.

Credence didn’t like the protests; they were loud and cramped and the people were angry. He wasn’t against his mother’s stance – she was only repeating the word of god, and god’s word was law in his (well, Mary Lou’s) household – but he couldn’t help but notice that no one seemed to be bothering to listen to either side. It was pointless.

Except…

Except for the man who stood with the opposition. And his tidy salt-and-pepper hair. And his dark, expressive brows. And the way he bit his lip. And his jaw, which sometimes had a bit of a shadow to it. 

It should have been easy, in this day and age, to cross the street and boldly ask the man for his number. It wasn’t, though, for Credence. He looked away before the stranger could catch him staring. 

In his defense, his mother was shouting loudly behind him, waving a “Make America Great Again” sign, and the other man – the sleek, elegant, mouthwatering man dressed in the sharpest suit Credence had ever seen – was watching disdainfully from across the street, standing next to two women Credence’s mother would have called “liberal whores.” 

Credence suspected that the man would want nothing to do with him, of all people. He also suspected that if Mary Lou caught him so much as glancing at the man – or any man – she’d have him shipped off to the nearest “rehabilitation center”. 

One of the women – a tall blonde dressed entirely in pale pink – looked up at him suddenly, flashed him the brightest smile he’d ever received, and winked before looping her arms around her two companions and dragging them away. 

Credence tried not to be disappointed that the man is gone. He tried, for about two seconds, to convince himself that he could prefer the blonde woman, given time. His head drooped further, shoulders slumping.

Well, Mary Lou always was calling him a failure; he really oughtn’t have been surprised that she was right. 

*

Credence saw the blonde woman again only two days later as he was hurrying down the street, his long legs just shy of running in an attempt to not be late home again. He was in the practice of not stopping for anything, not even angry taxi drivers, but the bright flash of pink in the corner of his eyes was unmistakable. 

She was standing just inside the local bakery, Fantastic Breads, visible through the large shop window at the front of the store. Her head was thrown back, her golden curls bouncing as her shoulders shook with laughter. Credence was not sure why he stopped speed-walking home. He was not sure why he walked up to the glass window and peered in. 

The woman turned towards him suddenly, and without thought, Credence bolted. He made it a block away before a light touch on his shoulder made him freeze. He shied away immediately, folding in on himself as he backed into an alley wall, hands reaching subconsciously for his belt. There was a soft intake of breath from behind him.

“Honey, are you okay?”

He breathed. It was not Mary Lou; her voice was never that soft.

“Oh, gosh. I didn’t mean to startle you,” the blonde woman said, looking incredibly distraught as Credence remained pressed firmly against the wall, gasping for air. 

He shook his head, a pathetic but earnest attempt to tell her that he was fine. 

“I just recognized you from the other day, and wanted to come introduce myself,” she said, appearing a little calmer. “I’m Queenie.”

Credence wasn’t sure what kind of name “Queenie” was, but knew that his mother would disapprove of the woman in front of him. She was too bright, too pink, and – wait – was that glitter on her skin? He knew what Mary Lou would have called her.

She was still smiling at him, nothing but kindness in her eyes, and though Credence knew – oh dear Lord he knew – he shouldn’t talk with the opposition, he couldn’t quite help himself.

“I’m Credence,” he replied, his voice quieter than hers.

“What a lovely name. Would you like to share a pastry with me, Credence?” 

“Sorry, but I’ve got to get home. Mar – my mother will be worried about me.”

Queenie nodded. “Of course. Well, I hope we meet again.” 

Credence nodded and slid past her, not noticing the small frown on the woman’s face. When he reached the corner of the street, he turned – maybe to wave goodbye, or something of the sort – but she was gone.

He was ten minutes late getting home.

*

“Teenie, I’m telling you, the boy is too thin. He’s malnourished, I can tell.”

Tina sighed, chewing on her lip. Her sister was, as per usual, probably right.

“There’s nothing I can do,” Tina said. “You know we can’t intervene.” 

“But what if –“

“Don’t be daft. You can’t adopt a no-maj, Goldstein,” Abernathy’s voice called from the next cubicle. The man rolled into Tina’s cubicle in his rolling chair, looking casual, relaxed, and altogether a little douche-y – if Tina was being quite honest with herself.

“Mind your own fucking business, Abernathy,” Tina snapped, wand hand itching. 

He whistled lowly. “I don’t think Graves would approve if he heard –“

Queenie leveled a petrifying gaze at the man in the rolling chair. “Do we need to talk about Graves, hm?”

Tina glanced between her sister and the ever-paling Abernathy in confusion. 

“Because I don’t think he would approve if he knew what you think every time he leans over his desk. Do you?” she asked sweetly, honey laced with cyanide. “We could find out. Here he comes now.”

Tina had never seen the man disappear back into his own cubicle so quickly. She frowned at her sister.

“What did you mean-“

“It’s nothing, Teenie, really.”

Tina sighed. “You’ll stay away from the no-maj boy, won’t you? At least for now.” 

Queenie rolled her eyes but nodded. 

“Goldstein. Tina,” Percival Graves said as he passed by them on the way to his office. “I do hope you’re both getting work done and not just chatting.” 

“Of course, sir,” Queenie said immediately. A small smile drifted to her face. “You may want to check in with Abernathy. I think he had something for you.”

*

Just because Tina had made her sister promise not to talk to the no-maj boy again didn’t mean that she herself couldn’t watch from a safe distance. The woman who must have been Credence’s mother was a nasty piece of work and a walking contradiction. She claimed to be a woman of god, but preached only hatred. She professed to want to take care of the helpless, yet exploited them for labor. She claimed to love her children, but neglected them.

And Queenie had been right in guessing that Credence bore the brunt of his mother’s ire. 

She watched Credence and his family for two weeks under heavy disillusionment charms. Mary Lou Barebone had been on MACUSA’s watch-list for some time now simply due to the passion of her support for no-maj President elect: a man hell-bent on overturning the current political system and a proclivity for blind prejudice. MACUSA was working double-time to hide magical presence in the United States since the risk of exposure was growing exponentially. 

Tina did not have Queenie’s natural talent for legilimency – nor did she have the fortune of being a gifted occlumens – but she had always had a sixth sense for wrongness. It was nothing more than a stirring in her gut, a small tug of invisible strings that seemed to drag her towards danger and deception in even the smallest doses. 

It was because of this small, nagging pull that she ended up inside the Barebone residence, standing horrified in the doorway as Mary Lou brought a leather belt down on Credence’s marred back. She didn’t think, didn’t have time to even say the words out loud. Her wand slashed through the air, and Mary Lou Barebone fell to the floor in agony. 

Credence stared up at Tina – the brown haired woman who had been with Queenie and the handsome man at the protest weeks ago – in awe and fear. Mary Lou was on the floor, shaking, but no longer actively being cursed. The brown-haired woman approached him slowly, her wand weaving patterns in the air above Credence’s back. He shrank away from her. 

“Credence, my name is Tina,” she murmured softly, as if speaking to a frightened animal. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m Queenie’s sister.”

He could feel the skin on his back pulling, stretching, stitching back together. It ached, but not nearly as bad as the stinging sensation of the belt. 

“Thank you,” he said hurriedly. “Thank you.”

“I-“

There was a loud pop, and two men came into existence in the room rather suddenly. The first, Credence thought was rather sallow and plain, not his type at all – he then cursed himself for even thinking that he had a type. 

The second was instantly recognizable, and very, very much his type. 

“Tina, what the fuck,” the second man said as he glanced around the room, running his hand through his hair. 

“I’m sorry, Mister Graves, but-“

Credence stopped listening. Mr. Graves was the name that belonged to the man who made him a sinner. It was formal, yet fitting, he thought.

There was a stick in his face, and he froze. 

“Don’t, please,” Tina was saying.

Mr. Graves looked down at Credence curiously and moistened his lips, seemingly lost in thought. The stick was removed from Credence’s face.

“Abernathy, obliviate the mother,” he said. “Tina, we’ll discuss this back at the office.” 

The next morning, Mary Lou did not remember a thing.

*

“Tina, I repeat, what the fuck,” Percival said, head cradled in his hands. It had been a shit show of a day, what with Tina breaking the law, and President Picquery having to prepare to meet the no-maj President elect. He’d had a headache since 9 am and it wasn’t going away.

“What was I supposed to do?” Tina asked, her sad doe-eyes pleading with him. “You should have seen his back, sir. It was a wreck. I couldn’t…well I couldn’t leave him like that.”

Percival sighed. “We are in a precarious political situation right now. We can’t afford any screw-ups. President Picquery – perhaps I shouldn’t be telling you this – but President Picquery is very concerned about what the future of wizarding life in America is going to look like. I can honestly tell you that we have a team prepared to obliviate the no-maj President elect should he take our existence poorly.”

“Sir, I – “

“Your stunt this afternoon could have been catastrophic, might still be catastrophic.”

Tina sat quietly for perhaps the first time in her entire career of being an auror. Percival took a deep breath. 

“I’m demoting you to the wand-permit department, indefinitely,” he said slowly.

Tina stood from her chair. “What?”

“President Picquery wants consequences, and I have to say, Tina, that I agree with her. You were out of line, and this is not your first offense.”

“Sir, I really think –“

He held up his hand. “There are those who would have your wand snapped for this, Tina. Be grateful you’ve gotten off easy. You’re dismissed.” 

She walked to the door solemnly, but paused.

“Sir –“

“Tina.”

She scowled stubbornly. “You didn’t obliviate the boy. Credence.” 

He opened his mouth, then shut it. Opened it again. 

Closed it. 

“Dismissed, Tina.” 

*

**Author's Note:**

> Please feel free to review :) I love hearing from people


End file.
